With an average of 1 in 8 women developing breast cancer at some point in their lives,[1] mammography is essential health care for women. Although you may not exactly look forward to your annual screening mammogram, consideration of a few factors can help to make your visits as comfortable and beneficial as possible.
Choosing Where to Have Your Mammogram
What level of training in and experience with performing mammograms do the facility and the radiologist have?
A radiologist who spends much of the work day looking at mammograms is naturally more adept at discerning the fine details that mammography reveals. A study by the University of California Medical Center’s Department of Radiology provides support for this logical connection, finding that breast imaging specialists have lower recall rates while detecting more early-stage cancers, recommending more biopsies, and detecting more cancers overall than general diagnostic radiologists.[2]
The radiologist, of course, is not the only person at the facility who is involved in your care. It is also helpful to understand how much breast imaging-specific training and experience the facility has as a whole. The American College of Radiology (ACR) designates certain facilities as Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence (BICOE), indicating that the facility’s staff has received training and accreditation well beyond what is required for simple mammography accreditation. To be named a BICOE, a facility must also earn accreditation in stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound, and, beginning in 2016, breast MRI.[3]
What types of breast imaging technology does the facility use?
Advances in technology have made mammography progressively safer and more effective. For example, digital mammography has been found to detect cancer in women under 50, who are not yet menopausal, or who have dense breast tissue better than film mammography.[4] Breast tomosynthesis (also known as 3-D mammography) has been associated with both decreased callback rates and increased cancer detection when used to supplement digital mammography.[5] Furthermore, advanced equipment is available that uses a lower radiation dose to perform 3D mammograms. For some women, breast ultrasound or breast MRI may be recommended, either as part of screening or as follow-up to something seen on the initial screening mammogram. Having those options available in the same facility as your screening mammogram is not only convenient; it also provides you with a greater continuity of care.
How does the facility staff interact with patients?
Screening and diagnosis can cause a great deal of anxiety in many patients. Even if you’re not at all anxious about your procedure, you probably appreciate being listened to, being given thoughtful answers to your questions, and efforts to make you as comfortable as possible. No one likes to feel like a car going in for maintenance. When you’re searching for any kind of health care provider, it’s a good idea to ask friends and family for personal recommendations and look for reviews to get information about a facility’s level of personalized service and patient care. Particularly if you end up needing follow-up care after your screening mammogram, you’ll be glad you took the time to find a provider who treats you with compassion and respect.
Iowa Radiology is an ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, offering a full range of breast imaging and diagnostic procedures. In addition to providing digital mammography, we are ACR accredited in breast ultrasound, breast MRI, and stereotactic breast biopsy. We also offer C-View, a new low-dose technology for performing 3-D mammograms. We have fellowship-trained breast imaging specialists on staff to serve all of your imaging and diagnostic needs, and our entire staff is dedicated to providing you with an exceptional level of personalized care.
To learn more about mammograms and what to expect during yours, download our free ebook.
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Sources
[1]http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast/risk-fact-sheet
[2]http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/radiol.2243011482
[3]http://www.acr.org/~/media/ACR/Documents/Accreditation/BICOE/BICOErequirements.pdf
[4]http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Table31Digitalmammographyversusstandardmammographyforbreastcancerscreening.html
[5]http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1883018
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